Central Asia news

Anti-prostitution campaign run across Uzbekistan

A country-wide anti-prostitution campaign runs all over Uzbekistan this spring. It includes both street raids by the law enforcement as well as special awareness raising programs on TV. Indeed, prostitution has existed in Tashkent, just like any other city of Uzbekistan, at all times, but most recently it has grown in scope unprecedentedly. A retired police officer in Tashkent told Fergana.ru that sex industry was traditionally patronized and controlled by senior police officials who obviously disliked the increased supply of sex services. The current anti-prostitution campaign should help to reduce the supply at this market and regain tight control over this very specific industry.

This documentary was shown on TV in Uzbekistan in early April 2012. It speaks about successful operations carried out by police in Tashkent in order to reduce the incidence of prostitution.

Experts agree that the main reason why young girls and women are engaged into prostitution in Uzbekistan has to deal with the desperate lack of opportunities for employment in other areas. This situation resulted, inter alia, from the recent changes in the national legislation under which employers have to provide a paid maternity leave previously covered by the state. Naturally, employers in the private sector are not willing to cover the costs of maternity leaves. As a result, young women of fertile age have difficulties finding job.

This decision to stop paying maternity allowances from the state budget was made by the government over a year ago, resulting in the growth of prostitution encouraged by the authorities’ social and economic policies. One inevitably comes to a sad conclusion: the main reason of the growing incidence of prostitution in Uzbekistan is the mass unemployment among young girls and women.